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Messaging on your Google Business Profile: what changed, and where it stands

Last updated: November 11, 2026

The short answer. Google switched off Business Profile chat on July 31, 2024. Messaging is back on listings in three forms: a Chat option that sends customers to your text number or WhatsApp; Google's own AI-enabled messaging, a pilot on RCS for restaurants, beauty services and vehicle services; and Message buttons for businesses that have their own RCS sender. Which you can use depends on your country, your category and how much of the answering you want to do yourself.

The timeline

July 31, 2024
Chat and call history are removed from Business Profiles. Chat FAQs and quote requests go with them.
2024 to 2025
Google adds a Chat option to a profile's contact information. It takes a text message number or a WhatsApp link, in select regions.
April 2026
Google's RCS for Business team describes Message buttons on Search and Maps listings for brands with an RCS sender, in an early access program.
June 2026
A Messages button labelled as handled by an AI agent is first spotted on Business Profiles.
October 2026
Google invites more businesses to its AI-powered messaging pilot on Business Profiles.
November 2026
A Message button appears beside Call on Google Maps listings, on Android and iPhone.

The three ways a customer can message you from Google today

1. The Chat option: your text number or WhatsApp

A claimed and verified Business Profile can add a text messaging number or a WhatsApp link to its contact information. The customer taps the button and lands in a conversation with you on that channel. Google says the option is available in select regions, and that if you add both, only the text option is shown.

Good for: a business where someone can answer texts through the day. The catch: every message waits for a person, and a customer who asks “are you open?” at 9 at night gets silence until morning.

2. Google's AI-enabled messaging

In this pilot, a customer taps Message on your listing and an AI agent replies in the customer's own messaging app, over RCS for Business. According to Google's help pages:

Good for: a business in one of those categories that has been invited. The catch: Google says it may not be available for all businesses, so many won't see it yet.

3. Your own RCS sender, with a Message button

A business with its own verified RCS sender can be messaged from anywhere it puts the link or QR code, and Google's RCS for Business program describes Message buttons for those senders on Search and Maps listings, through early access. The sender is yours: your name, your logo, and an assistant that knows your business.

Good for: any kind of local business, and for owners who want to see and correct exactly what the assistant knows. The catch: it needs brand verification and carrier approval, which is work a small business shouldn't have to do alone. That's what About.chat is for.

Where About.chat fits

About.chat gives a local business its own AI assistant on RCS. We build it from your website, you check what it learned and message it from your own phone, and we take it through verification and carrier approval. Then customers reach it from the Message button on your Google listing, where Google offers it, and from a link and a QR code for your door, your receipts and your website.

Questions owners ask about messaging on Google

Did Google remove chat from Business Profiles?

Yes. The original chat and call history features stopped working on July 31, 2024. Since then Google has added other ways for customers to message a business from its listing: a Chat option that points to your text number or WhatsApp, and, in 2026, AI-enabled messaging over RCS for some businesses.

How do I add a Message button to my Google Business Profile?

In your Business Profile's contact information, add a chat option: a number that takes text messages, or a WhatsApp link. Google says chat options are available in select regions. If you add both, only the text option is shown. Businesses offered Google's AI-enabled messaging turn it on from the Messages section of their profile.

What is Google's AI-enabled messaging for Business Profiles?

It's a pilot in which a customer taps Message on your listing and an AI agent answers, in the customer's own messaging app, over RCS for Business. The agent answers from your Business Profile and your verified website, and passes complex requests to you. As of November 2026 Google offers it in the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Germany, to restaurants, beauty services and vehicle services.

Why can't I see AI messaging on my Business Profile?

Google's pilot is limited by country, by business category (restaurants, beauty services and vehicle services) and, in the US, by mobile carrier, and Google says it may not be available for all businesses. If it isn't offered to you, you can still add a text number or WhatsApp link as your chat option, or put your business on RCS with its own assistant.

What does Google need to confirm my business for AI messaging?

For a US business, Google's help page lists your Employer Identification Number (EIN), the name of an authorized representative, a working business email address, a business website or official social profile, and live public links to your Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. Google says the review takes up to 4 business days in the US and is valid for a year.

Does messaging from a Google listing work on iPhone?

RCS messaging with businesses works on iPhones running iOS 18.1 or later, on carriers that support it, and on Android phones. A chat option that points to a text number works on any phone.

Sources

Next: RCS for local businesses, or about us.